Mimi Hearing Technologies

Mimi Hearing Technologies defines the future of sound, and revolutionises the way people experience music. With extensive experience in R&D, two medically certified apps, and over a million ears tested world-wide, Mimi is the leading expert in sound personalisation. Its unique sound personalisation technology is developed by hearing scientists and audio engineers in Berlin, whereby Mimi enables you to hear more details in your music which you might have been missing because of your hearing. Website

Interview with Mimi Hearing Technologies

What inspired you to found your startup?

Dr. Nick Clark researched for years on hearing technology. Being a music enthusiast, he always wanted to overcome the fact that people can hardly enjoy the best possible sound experience because nothing is truly tailored to their individual hearing. Nick was driven to create the best possible sound experience for everyone. This has become the starting point in Mimi’s technology, empowering millions to explore their hearing and fundamentally improve the way people hear.

How do you define success for yourself and your company?

Success means building a great company culture for and with people who are driven by working on something purposeful. We are solving a real problem at Mimi and our products make a real difference in the life of people. If we manage to create a work environment at Mimi which helps everyone to grow personally too, while working together on our big vision, then we are successful.

Is there anything you’d do differently if you could do it again?

Start again with all the learnings which we had along the way. It might sounds very simple but it is probably as simple as that.

What problem does your product solve?

One sound fits all is outdated in the age of customization. Ears are not perfect. Sound technology advanced, but the biology of human hearing did not. This is where Mimi comes in. We set out to complete the last inch in the audio chain, by optimising your ear’s ability to hear. The Mimi sound personalization technology is available as an SDK and can integrate with pretty much any audio product to provide everyone the most personal listening experience anytime.

Where do you see your company in 1/5/10 years?

We envision a world where you can experience sound and music without compromise and despite the imperfections of human hearing. We are aiming to make Mimi the global standard for personalized audio by 2020 so not hearing well is no longer a barrier to connect and enjoy music. We are aiming to give you the best possible hearing experience, whenever you interact with sound and music: On your phone, in your car, with your TV, laptop or hearable.

How are you different?

With Mimi you hear more details in your music which you might have been missing because of your hearing. We optimize sound at the final stage of the music creation and consumption chain, based on our deep understanding of the needs of the listener. Mimi is in a unique position to do this because of our deep knowledge of hearing and proprietary sound processing tailored to compensate for specific hearing deficiencies.

How often does your product/service show up in a user’s day or week?

Whenever you are in touch with sound and music, you can be in touch with Mimi. The moment you put your headphones on, the moment you turn your music on in your car or the moment you check out the latest music in your streaming service app. Mimi is your companion for all things hearing health, sound and music.

Impact: how are you doing good and building a better future?

Mimi’s is not only at your side to provide you the best, most immersive and personal hearing experience but also to help you protect your ears. Our Mimi Hearing Test is a great tool to continously check on your hearing health and on top, the Mimi sound personalization technology makes it possible that you can also turn down the volume of your music.

How has the startup scene in Berlin changed?

It’s more developed and the ecosystem is more established which feels great. Yet, it’s difficult to hire great talents in Berlin.

What are the pros and cons of launching your startup from Berlin?

Great ecosystem, great culture, culturally rich and lots of young and creative influence from different fields. The competition for talent is high, yet it’s a great and attractive place for young talent. Rising prices are a bit of a downside and on the VC side you can often still feel the focus on e-commerce and an openess for big and bold ideas is sometimes missing.

Berliner Dom

The Berliner Dom, located on the Museum Island, is Berlin’s largest cathedral. One of the city’s biggest tourist attractions, the Evangelical community provides tours and gives over 100 concerts every year. Below the cathedral is the final resting place of the Hohenzollern, a dynasty of rulers over Prussia and the German Empire.